FAQs

Yugambeh, Minyangbal, Nganduwal?

We are a people of many names, unlike European groups who may only use a single ethnonym (self-name) for themselves, the citizens of our First Nation are alternatively known as Yugambeh, Minyangbal, or Nganduwal.

Nation, Language Group, or Tribe?

First Nations cover wide geographical areas, and within these nations are typically clan groups, composed of families. Clans within a Nation share a common language, lore, and kinship system, which is why a Nation can also be referred to as a Language Group. The Yugambeh Language Group is composed of nine clans.

‘Tribe’ is a European word that tends to imply western preconceptions of being ‘uncivilised’, or ‘lacking modern technology’. Nation, Language Group, community, people, or mob is usually preferable to ‘tribe’.

What is Bundjalung?

Bundjalung is a term used to refer to a number of First Nations, being a reference to a region (roughly the Northern Rivers into Queensland) where the Aboriginal people share similar language and culture. Bundjalung is a wider group, but it is not political in nature like a Nation.

Within the Bundjalung area are a number of Nations/Language Groups, like Yugambeh, Githabul, and Wahlubal as examples. The anthropological term for this is a Cultural Bloc.

What is a First Nation?

First Nation is a term that that recognises Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups as the first peoples of Australia. 'Aboriginal' and 'Indigenous' are words that have failed to represent the unique cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups, and are often defined racially, rather than a socially or culturally by wider Australian society. Using the term First Nation recognises that the various language groups are separate and unique sovereign nations.